


I want you with me

by CharlotteSays



Category: Call the Midwife
Genre: Angst, F/F, Fluff, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-29
Updated: 2017-06-11
Packaged: 2018-10-12 14:34:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 19,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10492974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharlotteSays/pseuds/CharlotteSays
Summary: Delia and Patsy's first meeting, and their relationship carried on from that point.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at writing fanfiction, so I hope it isn't too awful. I thought we didn't have enough Patsy/Delia meeting fanfics so enjoy!

It had been a long and exhausting shift on Male Surgical. Patsy shivered and pulled her coat tight around herself, to try and prevent any cold reaching her. 

Finally, she arrived at the Nurses Home, walked briskly up the stairs and entered her room. However, she couldn’t help noticing that there were boxes everywhere outside in the corridor. Whilst she hated the mess, Patsy was glad that she was getting a new housemate. The other girls were pleasant enough, but she couldn’t help but feel that they thought she was stuck up. She’d never had a close friend, instead preferring to keep everyone at arms length to prevent any upset. 

She sat on her bed, listening to the muffled voice of Billy Fury trickling down through the floorboards. How she hated Billy Fury. Patsy tried to go over her notes from the lecture the other day, instead going over the events of the day. 

Mr Jones in Bed 3 had pinched her bottom, and when she gave him a disapproving glare, he just laughed and patted the bed-clearly angling for her to sit next to him. She had quickly walked off, but couldn’t help but feel his burning gaze, hot on the back of her uniform. Then she had been given a reprimand from Matron, after knocking over a pile of notes on her desk. She had quickly picked them up, but received a lecture on being more careful. Honestly, it wasn’t Patsy’s fault that the Matron couldn’t organise her desk properly. Get a filing system! And to round it all off, one of the older patients had vomited all over her uniform, she had to change right at the end of her shift. 

She couldn’t wait for this placement to end.

Suddenly, Patsy heard a scuffle outside her door. She quickly opened it, only to see a small brunette struggling with a clearly heavy box. 

“Are you OK with that?” She asked. 

The other woman turned around quickly, Patsy found herself staring into a pair of the most beautiful eyes- a light blue colour, perfectly matched to the owner. 

“Oh yes”, she replied. “Actually, would you mind grabbing that box over there for me?”

Patsy did so, and followed the smaller woman into the room. They both placed the boxes on the floor, and the brunette held out her hand.

“My name is Delia Busby” she announced, a lot more confidently than she looked.

“And mine is Patience Mount, but everyone calls me Patsy.” 

They both held eye contact for a fraction of a second longer than what was necessary, and Patsy couldn’t help but marvel at how soft the woman’s skin was. Suddenly, they both realised that they were still holding hands and pulled away reluctantly. 

“Well I suppose I had better get back to unpacking” Delia said after a moment of silence.

“I can help if you want,” Patsy offered. 

Immediately she noted the smile that flooded Delia’s face. They both walked to the boxes and began carrying them into the room, it was in silence but it was a comfortable one- not awkward at all. Once they had finished transporting all the boxes, Delia opened one, inviting Patsy to do the same. Eventually they finished the task that was clearing away all of Delia’s belongings. 

Delia produced a bottle of scotch. She held it up, silently asking and received a small nod in return. Patsy took the glass of scotch that had been poured for her, and looked for somewhere to sit. Delia patted the spot next to her on the bed, Patsy walked over and sat down, taking a sip of her drink she looked into Delia’s eyes and said: 

“So what bought you here Miss Busby?” 

She sat there, gazing at Delia as she told Patsy all about where she had grown up, about her over-protective parents and about how she had needed to get out of Pembrokeshire, which, as nice as it was, wasn’t exactly a hive of social activity. Delia only paused to take a sip of her drink, when she did finish however, she said: 

“And what about you Patsy, I want to hear everything about you, why did you become a nurse?” 

Patsy had a drink, looking at Delia through her long lashes over the top of her glass. She simply replied with: 

"Because I wanted to help people.” 

Which wasn’t strictly a lie, she did want to help people. She just wasn’t ready to spill out all her secrets to a girl she had only just met- albeit a very nice one. Delia could tell that Patsy wasn’t telling her everything, but she was prepared to wait until Patsy did feel comfortable with allowing Delia to know what had happened. 

“To new friends” Patsy said, cutting off Delia’s thoughts and raising her glass.

“To new friends” Delia agreed. 

And Patsy thought to herself, that maybe it hadn’t been such an awful day after all.


	2. Chapter 2

Delia rubbed her fingers longingly over the starched, crispness of the new uniform that she had just received. After all this time, she was finally fulfilling her dream of being a nurse. Her mam had tried to discourage her from taking the job.

“You don’t want to be doing such a nasty job Delia, you could stay and work in the drapers shop with your Dad. We’ve always hoped that you would choose to stay in Pembrokeshire with us.”

To which Delia simply said:

“I want to see outside of Wales, I can help people, make their lives better. This is what I’ve always wanted to do, you know that Mam.” 

She sighed and sat down on her bed, took out her book and stared blankly at the pages. Reminded of last night by the glasses on the sideboard and the faint smell of bleach in the air. Reminded of Patsy. Delia looked down at the book “My Cousin Rachel.” One which she had read at least twice, and yet one which had never particularly grabbed her as books normally did. 

She sighed again and put the book down, drawn to the faint scent of bleach intermingled with perfume.  
There was a small knock on the door, Delia jumped up to answer it. Realising it must be Patsy, seeing as she didn’t know anyone else in the building, she smoothed down her hair, patted down her skirt and opened the door. 

“Hello Deels!” Patsy said. 

‘Deels’, Delia thought, she liked Patsy calling her that, her mother had only ever called her Delia and the boys she used to play with when she was younger, didn’t call her anything at all. It’s not that they were horrible to her, they were just boys who clearly thought that the girl who had played with them for years, wasn’t worthy of being called by her name. 

“Patsy!” Delia replied.

They both went and sat on Delia’s bed, Patsy admiring her uniform which was hung on her wardrobe , as she walked past. Sat in the same places as yesterday, Delia took a moment to appreciate the smell of bleach and perfume that became stronger each passing second. And of course, to appreciate how beautiful Patsy actually was. With her blonde hair, high cheekbones and impressive height she truly was different to any other girl that Delia had ever met. 

And that wasn’t a bad thing.

Seeing as it was only 2 O’clock, it was a little early for a alcoholic drink. However, both her and Patsy were perfectly content with a cup of coffee, prepared downstairs in the kitchen and brought upstairs. 

Purely to avoid the crowd of girls down there, who were busy fixing hair and making tea in preparation for the shifts at the London that were due to start any second. Luckily, both her and Patsy had the afternoon off as they had lectures every day this week. 

Which, by pure chance were together- it must have been fate.

As they sat there together, talking about anything and everything, Delia stared at Patsy for just a little too long, and it might have been her imagination but she was sure she saw Patsy colour a little under her gaze. They stayed there like that for hours, before Patsy politely excused herself so she could prepare for tomorrow’s lectures. 

As she left, Delia found herself staring at her back, watching the sway of Patsy’s hips as the door clicked shut behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave comments and things I can improve on below! :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you're enjoying it so far, it's quite a slow burn fic so just bear with me. :)

Patsy found herself lying on top of her bed, facing the ceiling. She replayed what had happened with Delia, her intent gaze at Patsy, unblinking.

She had never met anyone like herself before, anyone that didn’t try to deny who they were. All the women she thought might be ‘queer’ as the title was, clearly couldn’t face themselves and chose to keep it hidden. Marry a man, have children, deny everything.

And yet, maybe she was jumping to conclusions, she had no other reason that would suggest that Delia was ‘like her’. Patsy tried to shake off the not entirely unwelcome feeling in the pit of her stomach. The feeling that suggested she had a bit of a “schoolgirl crush”, but Patsy was not a schoolgirl, nor was she prepared to have a silly crush on a girl that probably wasn’t even inclined in that way. 

She had tried to keep up these barriers that she had so carefully put in place, the ones that protected her, stopped her feeling vulnerable. And yet, she felt as though they were slowly crumbling, and Delia was the one who was causing that. 

Patsy thought of the way Delia smiled, her soft Welsh lilt, the very thing that Patsy had heard even before she opened her door. She thought of her hair, and the way she wanted to run her hand through it, tuck it gently behind Delia’s ears and... No, she couldn’t have these feelings for someone she had only just met, let alone someone she was beginning to be good friends with. She couldn’t ruin everything.

She fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. Only waking when she heard a tap on her door, it was Delia waking her up with coffee, a smile and the fact that it was half past seven and if she didn’t get up soon they would be late for their lectures. 

Patsy shuffled herself up and leaned her head on the headboard, giving Delia a smile in return, thanking her, pretending that she couldn’t feel the butterflies in her stomach that started moving wildly when she saw Delia. 

Drinking the coffee quickly, she moaned aloud when she saw the creases in her dress- she quickly changed into some slacks and a white shirt, slipped her coat on and went out to meet Delia. If it was possible for Delia to look even more radiant than normal, she had managed it. 

The lecture was as boring as usual, only made bearable by Delia sat next to Patsy, their legs touching in a way Patsy assumed was accidental. 

The warmth from Delia was the only thing keeping her awake, the coffee she had drunk earlier clearly hadn’t done the trick and as she tried to take notes from the class she felt her eyes closing. Until a slight nudge in her side jolted her, and she looked up to see Delia grinning wildly, clearly amused. She narrowed her eyes at Delia, who tried to stifle her giggles, her face convulsing with the attempt.

When the class finally ended, Patsy grabbed hold of Delia’s arm and pulled her down the road. Eventually stopping at her favourite cafe, warm and inviting, called “The Silver Buckle”. Delia stopped to look at the sign momentarily but was pulled into the cafe by Patsy and taken to a table far away in the corner, out of sight.  
Patsy quickly ordered, not allowing Delia to hear what she asked for. 

Once they sat down, facing each other they began to talk about the lecture, the notes they had somehow collected and the fact that they were supposed to do revision from whatever they had. Eventually the waitress bought the order over and Delia sat there in stunned silence. 

“Patsy, how did you find these?” She asked. 

Looking at the plate of steaming, perfectly cooked Welsh cakes that were in front of her. 

Patsy blushed, “ I‘ve been going here ever since I joined at the London, I only realised that they sold these the other day though. I thought they would make you feel a little more at home.” 

Delia smiled, a large vibrant smile that filled her face.  
“That’s really sweet of you Pats, no one’s ever done anything like that for me before.” 

She took a large bite of the cake, encouraging Patsy to do the same, they were covered in warm, melted butter and tasted incredible. 

“Wow Deels, I wouldn’t mind living on these!” 

Delia nodded in agreement, her mouth full but a smile still imprinted on her face. Patsy hadn’t seen much happiness in her later childhood, so seeing Delia smile, her dimples visible, made the butterflies in her stomach move crazily. 

The feeling in her stomach was back, and this time she realised that she really didn’t mind.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Agh sorry, I only seem to be able to write really short chapters :(. I hope this is OK for the moment though :) XOX

Delia hadn’t wanted the evening to end, sitting there with the Welsh cakes that Patsy had bought for her made her realise just how lovely Patsy was. She hadn’t felt this way about anyone for years, the warm feeling in the pit of her stomach, the butterflies that moved every time she so much as thought of Patsy, and the way she longed to hold her, and kiss her. 

The last time Delia had ever felt this way, was back in Pembrokeshire at her secondary school. 

A girl named Carol, she had long blond hair, piercing blue eyes and full lips. Delia longed to spend every moment with her, until she quietly took Delia aside and told her that she had a boyfriend. Delia had been stunned, had she really been that obvious? Carol told her that she hadn’t, apparently she had an uncle “that way inclined” so she had no issue with the “queers” as she put it, she just wasn’t that way herself. Delia had hung her head in shame, and never spoke to Carol again and, in time she forgot about her. 

She didn’t think she was ever going to forget about Patsy though. 

Delia shook her head, she had to stop these thoughts. The ones that made her question everything. She had always known she was different, especially growing up. When her girl friends (she didn’t have many, instead preferring to stay with the boys) were going on dates, curling hair, applying lipstick, Delia shoved her hair back in a ponytail, climbed trees and never wore make up, unless it was a very special occasion. 

But until she felt what she did for Carol for that short space of time, she didn’t realise just how “different” she actually was.

After Carol had told her what she knew, Delia had run home crying, she showered and tried to scrub away the “sin” that she thought was overtaking her body. In the few months that followed Delia had tried everything to make herself fancy boys, from deliberate eye contact to attempting to kiss. None of it worked. She couldn’t make herself something she wasn’t, especially since all the boys she knew were either childhood friends, or just plain disgusting. 

And besides, what Delia felt couldn’t be wrong. It was part of who she was, just the same as her blue eyes and brown hair were. 

And so, in time Delia just stopped trying. Until now. Until she met Patsy she thought everything had been a dream, that she had made up this fantasy and gone along with it. 

But now there was nowhere to hide, everything she thought she was, and wasn’t, was exposed. And Delia didn’t know what could happen.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was wondering whether to post this chapter- late night writing isn't always amazing. :/ But here ya go, enjoy! XOX

It had been another long shift at the hospital and Patsy had booked a hair appointment for 5:30. She had to run to make it, but she eventually got there, chest heaving, feet hurting. 

When she got inside the woman there shook her head at the dishevelled sight, Patsy quickly righted herself and sat on the chairs set out for the customers. 

A few minutes later, she was sat in the chair in front of the large hairdressers mirror and found herself asking for a trim and colour. 

She didn’t know what had made her ask for it, but the hairdresser had recommended a bright, vibrant ginger colour- and Patsy had agreed.

An hour later she was sat in front of the mirror, turning her head from side to side as the woman finished curling her hair. Patsy quickly paid and left the shop, she couldn’t wait to see what Delia thought of it.

Patsy softly knocked on Delia’s door, nerves in her stomach. A quiet “Come in” allowed her to enter, as she saw Delia slowly sitting up in bed, rubbing her eyes. 

Long hair over her face, fringe sticking up from where she’d slept on it. It was surprising, she still looked beautiful even when she was slightly dishevelled like that. Delia’s eyes opened wide when she saw Patsy’s new hair colour, 

“Oh Pats, I love it! You look so beautiful, more so than when you had blonde hair!” 

Patsy blushed slightly at the compliment, but couldn’t get the word “beautiful” out of her head, it was just Delia being friendly after all. Wasn’t it?

“Sorry for waking you Deels, I didn’t realise you were asleep”. Patsy said.

Delia smiled, a small tired smile and replied: “I’m glad you did, I prefer you with ginger hair Pats.”

She yawned and stretched out her arms.

“But now you’ve woken me up, I don’t suppose you would get me a cup of coffee?” 

She smiled again, but this time it was the cheeky Delia smile that Patsy knew, and she loved. She stared at Delia for a second, then allowed her face to relax.

“Of course!” She said, and walked out to go and get the coffee. 

Delia slumped back down in her bed, she didn’t think it was possible for Patsy to look even more beautiful than she was before, the ginger made her face seem softer somehow. She sat, lost in her train of thought, so she didn’t notice when the taller woman re entered the room with two mugs.

Patsy placed them both on Delia’s bedside table and sat on the end of the bed, one arm back, face tilted towards the sun in a pose that made her look positively angelic. She pretended to not notice Delia staring at her, convincing herself that it was because she was admiring her hair. 

But deep down, Patsy knew Delia hadn’t been doing that at all.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's ya chapter ;). Got to say though, lack of Pupcake is getting me down, I must have rewatched 'The Kiss' 10 million times. ;). Enjoy! XX

Delia mulled over the options in her head, the cottage pie that surely didn’t contain any nutritional value whatsoever, or the pasta salad- boring but healthy. After a lot of deliberation, she went for the cottage pie, surely something this bland couldn’t do any harm? 

Finding an empty table she went to sit at it, the canteen was quite empty- everyone must be on irregular shifts she thought. Delia didn’t mind sitting alone, it gave her time to think about the one thing that had been in her brain all week. Patsy.

Delia knew she was falling for the now-ginger woman, but she hadn’t known that it was possible to feel so strongly about someone. Her previous “interest” had been a silly little crush, and besides there was something different about Patsy. 

Ever since Delia had met Patsy, all thoughts were based on her: the way Patsy walked, her soft yet husky voice, the way she held herself but most of all, the way she looked at Delia, a mixture of sadness but also joy reflected within her eyes. 

But it couldn’t be possible that Patsy was “like her” surely, Delia hadn’t met anyone like she was. All the young women she knew were clearly besotted with their male “friends”, they were ready to settle down, have children and Delia wasn’t prepared for anything of the sort. 

In fact, despite her mother’s attempts to find her a male suitor back in Pembrokeshire Delia had never taken any interest in men. Even when she was younger and all her friends were boys, she never felt attracted to them. They were just her friends. She had been introduced to young men by her mother.

“Delia this is Robert, he lives just down the road from us. Why don’t you two go and have a drink in the parlour?” 

To which Delia would politely decline and excuse herself, her mother would shake her head in despair. And Delia would think about how ugly Robert actually was, hair slicked down with Brylcreem, ears very prominent, eyes just that little too close together.

But Patsy was different to anyone she had ever met, she was so beautiful, and everything about her was perfect. 

Suddenly, her train of thought was interrupted by a tray being placed down on the table. She quickly looked up and saw Patsy, Delia flushed red, her stomach fluttering crazily.

“Hello Deels!” Patsy exclaimed. “I thought it was you when I came in, I did go to your room earlier and found it empty, but I knew you weren’t on placement or at a lecture.”

“Why Patsy!” Delia said, “You know an awful lot about my timetable!” 

Patsy flushed red this time, her mouth opened but no sound came out. 

“I’m teasing you Pats, I think it’s sweet, even if you do stalk me a little!”

Knocking her in the side of the ribs with her elbow. Looking round the room to see who was actually in the canteen.

“Come on Patsy, this cottage pie is awfully tasteless and my serving has gone cold now, I think we need to go and find another, nicer source of food!” 

Both girls stood and walked out, abandoning their trays in search of the place they had been before “The Silver Buckle.”  


As they left Delia linked arms with Patsy, she felt Patsy gasp a little at the sudden contact but neither of them removed their arms.

Instead she felt the link between them grow stronger, as Patsy tightened her grip, like she never wanted to let go.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Early update for ya, I've been away without wifi so I'm using my mobile data posting this. ;). Hope you're enjoying reading this, because I am definitely enjoying writing it. Anyway, read away about our favourite vintage lesbians.   
> {P.S. This is an angsty chapter, purely character development. ;) }

She was running in her sleep, running to save her mother and her sister, running to get away from the Japanese Guards, the ones that beat and tortured her. She thrashed around wildly, sweat gleaming, visibly on her forehead.

This dream was a recurring one, and however hard Patsy tried she couldn’t stop the terror, the panic that she experienced every time it happened. Because every time it did happen, she was transported back to that hell, the Japanese Internment Camp where she spent painful years of her childhood. Her mother and sister had died in that camp, and fresh wounds were opened each time she had this dream, wounds that seared with pain. 

Unbeknown to Patsy, Delia had heard her quiet screams. She instantly jumped up, ran to the door, opened it and raced to Patsy’s side. 

Throwing her arms around her, she gently kissed her head, trying to calm her down. Stop her arms and legs thrashing around in terror. Suddenly, Patsy sat up, mouth opened ready to scream. Delia grabbed her arm, imploring her not to, letting her know silently that she was here. 

It took Patsy a moment to recognise where she was, staring at Delia, mouth open. Delia stroked her arm gently.

“I’m here Pats, you’re safe now.” 

Slowly, Delia stood up and lay next to Patsy on the bed. She turned to face her, and saw that Patsy’s eyes were still open, as if she were in shock. 

Delia wrapped her arms around the taller woman, silently reassuring her that everything would be alright. She felt Patsy shiver, and realising she needed to do something more, she went downstairs and quickly prepared a hot water bottle and two mugs of Horlicks. 

As Delia entered Patsy’s room, she saw that she was looking better already, the panic had disappeared from her face and as Delia walked in, she was given a weak smile. She gave Patsy the mug of Horlicks and the hot water bottle, and sat next to her on the bed.

“Do you want to tell me what happened Patsy?” Delia asked quietly.

Patsy sighed, looking at Delia’s kind, loving face made her want to tell everything, but she didn’t know where to start. But she sighed, and she began to tell Delia everything.

“I grew up a perfectly content child, I lived a life of privilege, I had a mother, a father and my little sister Grace.” 

Patsy’s eyes misted slightly when she said her name. 

“Until one day, they came. The Japanese soldiers came and they took us away from all we knew. My father was taken to a different camp, by pure chance Grace, my mother and I were taken to the same place.”

Patsy stopped to rub her eyes with the back of her hand. 

“They took us to a Prisoner of War camp, and that was where I discovered that I wanted to be a nurse. Helping people in the camp seemed to be my calling. I was taught many things by the Nurses who had been taken to the camp, about different diseases, medicines and symptoms. Not that we ever had any suitable medicine for the diseases that we came into contact with.”

Delia squeezed Patsy’s hand, she knew what she was going to hear next. But she knew that it would be harder for Patsy to explain it.

“We lived off the most basic food, rice often black and in such small quantities. The rations we were given were barely enough to feed an animal, let alone growing children and adults. And so, I watched my mother and sister become even more malnourished and waste away. Until one day, my mother was delirious and had a burning temperature. The strong woman I had once known was disappearing, and eventually she wasn’t strong enough to survive.”

Patsy broke down a little at this, but continued.

“After that, I had to be the strong one, I was the big sister, the only relative that we knew was still alive. And so for Grace’s sake I had to put on a brave face, and pretend that I was strong enough for the both of us. Until one day she caught the same illness as my mother had had, and because she was so malnourished, she wasn’t strong enough to fight it off. My strength wasn’t good enough for Grace, so when she died I didn’t feel like there was any point in living.”

She wiped her eyes. 

“A few weeks later, after barely surviving we were rescued and taken to safety. My father was alive, but after everything we had been through, the horrors we had both seen, we couldn’t get along. And so I went to a Catholic Boarding school and eventually ended up here.”

Patsy sat for a few moments, lost in thought. Thoughts that were so painful to remember, and even more painful to talk about. She took a deep, shuddering breath and wiped her eyes. 

Putting on her tough Nurse Mount facade. Pretending nothing was wrong. Because if she ever let down that facade, she wasn’t sure whether she would cope. In fact, she knew she wouldn’t. It was ten times easier to pretend nothing had happened. 

And that was what she did best.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really, really hope I've done this chapter justice, it's pretty intimate (not like that..) More like Patsy talking with Delia and her thoughts. 
> 
> Anyway, read on and please, please leave comments below, because I'm very critical with myself and I need to know what you guys think. 
> 
> Enjoy! ;) XOX

Delia sat there in shock, after all this time, moaning about her overprotective parents she hadn’t thought about Patsy. The person who had been through more than some people would go through in a lifetime. She couldn’t believe she had been so selfish. 

Delia’s eyes filled up with tears as she looked at Patsy. All her feelings rushed to the surface and she thought about the brave little girl, helping people in that awful camp. Watching her mother and sister die in a way that could have been prevented. 

“I’m not going anywhere”, Delia said. “Not after what you’ve just told me.” 

Patsy looked like she was going to argue, but then gave a tiny, imperceptible nod. She turned off the light, Delia on top of the covers, Patsy underneath. 

“It’s not your fault.” She whispered to Delia, “You didn’t know.”

“But all this time, I was moaning about my parents and my ‘boring’ life in Pembrokeshire, when really I had nothing to complain about! I just feel so selfish.”  


Patsy looked down at Delia, “If you had known, would you have said anything?” She asked. 

“Of course not! I would have felt terrible even thinking about it.” Delia replied

“That’s exactly why I didn’t tell you. Because I wanted to hear about you, what you like, what you don’t, I wanted to feel normal. And not like the girl who had this childhood. Hearing about what you grew up with made me smile, it made me imagine you as a little girl, it made me think about what I missed. And that’s not a bad thing. I am happy now, and Delia Busby, I want you to be happy as well. So don’t feel sorry for me, because I don’t feel sorry for myself.” 

Once Patsy had finished, she gave a little sigh and said:

“And now we should get some sleep, because I want to go with you to the cinema tomorrow. And perhaps not fall asleep during the film!” 

She closed her eyes, clearly signalling that the conversation had ended. However, her mind told a different story. Every time she tried to fall asleep, her mind flashed back to the internment camp, her mother and sister, their deaths. Her father. After all this time Patsy still had a small part of her that resented the way he treated her after they came back from their camps, she understood he must have seen some abhorrent things but so had she.

Patsy had to watch her mother and Grace die, as well as other people within the camp. Patsy helped all those people as much as she could, watching and copying the Nurses in the camp, trying to find food from anywhere, trying to find water that wasn’t contaminated. Patsy had to make decisions to try and save people, would it be better to make the woman who was already ill, drink some of the water that gave her the disease? 

People died of diseases that could have been prevented easily, if they had been given proper food and water and the correct medical equipment. Disease spread like wildfire in the camp- the close quarters made sure of that. She couldn’t even begin to count of the number of times that she had woken up to find somebody in their hut not breathing, eventually it was her mother and sister who submitted to that cruel fate. 

But not Patsy. Patsy had somehow found the strength to survive, to keep going- not that she had wanted to after her Mother and Grace had died. The Nurses in the camp made sure of that, coaxing her out of bed to help them, making her eat and drink as much as she could. Eventually she had been rescued and reunited with her Father. The first thing he had said to her was:

“Where is your Mother and Grace?” 

She muttered one word, 

“Gone.” 

And quickly turned over, blocking him and his shuddering cries out. Patsy had had to watch them die, one after the other. The selfish part of her wondered why he hadn’t taken the time to appreciate that Patsy was alive, she had survived. Another tiny, disappointing part wondered whether her Father wished her Mother and sister had survived instead of her. Of course, over the passing weeks as Patsy regained her strength, they grew even further apart. 

Until, finally, he announced that: 

"It would be better if you went to Boarding School, you’ll be able to catch up on the work much quicker, I’ve found a good one. It’s run by Nuns, a Catholic Boarding School.”

Patsy ignored him.

They travelled to her new school a couple of weeks later. She didn’t cry, or make a scene. She just quickly got out of the car, walked up the driveway and didn’t look back. He did of course, always send her Christmas and Birthday cards but they preferred to keep the contact at a minimum. 

It caused less upset, less remembering what had happened. And so, Patience Elizabeth Mount had grown up, tried to block it out, become a Nurse, follow what she felt she was meant to do. She couldn’t stop the nightmares though, these awful, heart-wrenching nightmares that made her remember everything that she didn’t want to.

Delia couldn’t fall asleep either, she kept thinking about what Patsy had said. About what Patsy had gone through. And although Delia could see the rise and fall of Patsy’s chest, and hear the apparently regular breathing, she didn’t think that either of them got much sleep that night.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, so I was quite on the fence about posting this chapter. It's quite short because apparently those are the only chapters I can write with this fic.  
> P.s Thank you gay_for_emerald for prompting me to update this, here you go. Enjoy! ;) XOX

Waking up with Delia was one of the best things Patsy had ever experienced. She only had around one hour of sleep, but she felt refreshed and as though a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. 

All the same, after last night’s intimacy, Patsy still wasn’t sure whether Delia did having feelings for her, or whether she was just imagining it. Nevertheless, Patsy most definitely still had feelings for Delia, and the sight of her, long hair draped on Patsy’s bed, fringe sticking up, mouth slightly opened, made Patsy feel as though Delia was the only girl she could ever truly love.

She saw Delia stir and begin to wake up. A small smile playing on her lips as she realised where she was. Who she was with.

Waking up with Patsy was incredible. Delia gently sighed, pretending that she was still asleep. Breathing in the smell of Patsy, the unique one of bleach and perfume. 

Delia couldn’t believe that she was actually here. However, the rather large fly in the ointment was the fact that she wasn’t even sure whether Patsy had feelings for her, the show of affection last night could have just been a need for comfort and intimacy. 

However, Delia was happy to content herself with this for the moment, because until she was sure whether Patsy did like her, or whether she was just imagining it. One thing was for sure, she couldn’t ruin the friendship that they had created.

They couldn’t stay like that forever though, however much they wanted to. Patsy slowly moved her arm, shaking Delia gently to wake her up. They couldn’t risk being seen coming out of the same room, not if they valued their jobs.

Particularly nasty rumours would be spread, and particularly nasty inquiries made. Especially since neither of the girls showed any interest in the male doctors around the wards, questions would be asked, ones that would be hard to answer.

Patsy shook Delia again, whispering her name urgently. Delia opened her eyes, understanding why Patsy seemed so tense. She slowly got up, tucking her hair behind her. Smiling at Patsy, a small deliberate smile she slowly opened the door, checked the surroundings and rushed out. Patsy couldn’t breath properly until she heard the resounding ‘click’ of Delia’s door from across the hallway. 

Then, like nothing had happened, Patsy also got up, washed and dressed, all the while thinking about Delia. Thinking about what had happened last night. It was clear that Delia had rushed to her side instantly when she had heard Patsy, did that mean that Delia was being a good friend, or was there something more to it? She shook her head, whatever it meant they were still going to the cinema together, so whatever was going on with their feelings would have to wait until after the film.

She applied a thick coat of red lipstick, grabbed her bag and coat and went out to meet Delia. She wasn’t there in the hallway, so Patsy quietly knocked on her door. 

Suddenly, a whirlwind of Delia appeared, one arm in her coat whilst simultaneously putting on her shoes and picking up her bag. Patsy laughed a little, reached up and brushed a stray bit of fringe down from Delia’s hair. 

Electricity shot down her fingertips as they made contact, their eyes met and they both blushed quickly looking away. 

“Come on then”, Patsy said. “We don’t want to be late for the film.”

The meaningless talk soon bubbled over into their usual chatter about everything. However, both Patsy and Delia couldn’t forget about what had happened. Last night and in the morning.

However much the two girls tried to hide it, they were falling for each other.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EEEEK! It's getting closer!!!! But don't worry, I'm not quite finished with this yet...
> 
> This originally was 2 shorter chapters, but I didn't think it flowed properly so I've joined it into what seems to be a very long chapter for me... 
> 
> Read & tell me what you think! ;) <3 XXX

Once they got to the cinema, it was a choice between popcorn or a bag of peppermint creams, both of which to share. They eventually decided on the peppermint creams (mostly Delia’s decision) and looked at the film viewings. They chose a romantic comedy, not particularly memorable but it was nice for the moment. 

Making their way to the seats reserved on the tickets for them, they found that there was hardly anyone in the film. Perhaps three or four people dotted around the entire cinema. Once the film had started both Patsy and Delia found that they weren’t paying any attention whatsoever, instead preferring to think about the person sat next to them. 

(Delia thinking about what Patsy had said last night, and Patsy thinking about what Delia had done for her, rushing to her side during that awful dream.) 

They both reached for a peppermint cream, hands touching as they tried to enter the bag. Delia felt the electricity crackle, as it had done earlier. They looked again at each other, blushing, looking away, turning all attention towards the film. Or at least they tried to. The peppermint creams lay untouched.

And yet, when the film ended Patsy wished it hadn’t. She could’ve sat there forever next to Delia, just them together. No interruptions, no awkwardness. They walked out of the cinema, eyes slightly closed to block out the sudden brightness that blinded them momentarily. They boarded the bus, and Patsy couldn’t help but giggle at the fact that although the bus was empty, Delia still headed upstairs right to the front.

Delia looked around and giggled herself, “Old habits die hard, I always used to pretend that I was driving the bus, not that we ever really left Pembrokeshire.” 

She looked down and sighed for a moment. Patsy put her hand on Delia’s arm.

“Just remember Deels, you aren’t in Pembrokeshire anymore, you left. You have your own life now, enjoy it!” 

“I like it when you call me that.” Delia said. 

“What, Deels? I never normally use nicknames so think yourself lucky Miss Busby!” Patsy said in a mock-stern voice. 

Delia looked at Patsy, all her feelings rushed to the surface. They held eye contact, not looking away. It seemed like hours, Patsy thought, but it must have only been seconds. The bus had stopped, and quickly before they got stuck on it, Patsy and Delia had to rush down the stairs, giggling and apologising to the driver. The moment had passed. They stood in the chilly air, Patsy pulled her coat closer around herself, then she grabbed Delia’s arm and walked in the direction of the Nurses Home.

Letting themselves in, Delia instinctively followed Patsy to her room. However, it came as a shock when Patsy announced that she was rather tired and needed to get some sleep so she wasn’t falling asleep during the lectures tomorrow. This was followed by a small smile, by way of an apology, and a door shut in Delia’s face. Delia stood there, momentarily hurt, before realising that she was also rather tired and should get some rest. 

Or at least she tried to tell herself that. 

Climbing into bed, Delia turned to face the wall. But she couldn’t sleep at all. Tossing and turning, wondering what had suddenly happened to make Patsy so brusque, especially after they had enjoyed a day out together. And of course a night. 

Unknown to Delia, Patsy was also having trouble sleeping. Tossing and turning in the small bed, she replayed Delia’s hurt face over and over in her head. Patsy hadn’t meant to sound harsh, she was just so confused with her feelings.

One minute she felt normal, and the next she felt as though everything she felt was a lie. After seeing the couples outside the cinema, hands entwined, gazing at each other adoringly, it made her upset that she realised she could never be like that. There was nothing abnormal about her feelings, in fact exactly the opposite. Everything that Patsy felt, seemed as normal as everyone else. 

Growing up in the Boarding school that she had (an all-girls Boarding school) had made Patsy realise that she liked girls. Being forced several times to “practise kissing” with the other girls there, in preparation for if any boys were to have asked them out.

Ha, that was a joke. 

Patsy had never been asked out on a date with a boy. Not that she had ever wanted to, however, it upset her deeply to think that if she was with Delia, or anyone for that matter (not that she wanted anyone else,) she wouldn’t be able to express any feelings outside. She wouldn’t be able to show other people how much she loved Delia. And Delia deserved that. 

She deserved the world. 

Patsy eventually fell asleep, only waking when her alarm clock went off, rousing her from her bed. She got up and dressed in some slacks and a shirt, picked up her notes and went to knock on Delia’s door, pausing but making up her mind, she rapped smartly on it with her knuckles. Delia quickly opened it, eyes bloodshot (due to lack of sleep, or had she been crying?) Patsy wondered. 

Delia still managed to look beautiful, she wore a lilac dress paired with a white cardigan. Her hair, neatly tied in a ponytail, bounced on her shoulder as Delia picked up her notes and closed her door. 

They both walked to the lecture hall in silence, shoulders bumping. The tension could have been cut with a knife. Every time Patsy thought of something to say, her mouth shut without her permission. Delia looked utterly downcast, shoulders hunched, head down. Patsy wanted to say something, to make it better. But she didn’t know what to say. 

It was so hard! Patsy had tried to make herself close off the feelings she had for Delia, only realising now that it was making them both unhappy. After everything that she had told Delia, they had stayed in the same room for the night! Patsy was making herself frustrated, by alienating Delia last night she had upset her only proper friend. The person who she had become so close to in the last few months, the person she could tell everything to.

Well, the person she thought she could tell everything to. 

The lecture had been as riveting as she expected, Delia maintained a distance away from her, completely different to the last lecture they had, legs touching in a way Patsy had assumed was accidental, but she was quickly realising that it wasn’t. Delia had never shied away from Patsy, she had obviously felt what Patsy was feeling.

Patsy groaned inwardly. She had pushed Delia away, scared of what she felt. But Patsy wasn’t scared anymore. She replayed the last couple of months in her brain, the butterflies she felt whenever she saw Delia, the eye contact they made that often ended with flushed faces turning away and the electricity she felt whenever her and Delia touched, either accidentally or on purpose. 

She needed to tell Delia, whatever happened she had to know.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes.
> 
> Sorry I've taken so long to update this, I'm really nervous about whether it's actually any good. This is such an intimate scene and I really hope I've done it justice!
> 
> Tell me what you think. I hope everyone is having an amazing bank holiday weekend. Anyway, read on about our favourite vintage lesbians! :)<3

Delia’s mind was racing, the lecture had been particularly boring and she had tried to stay a respectable distance away from Patsy. Whilst before she had been very friendly, almost obviously flirty, Delia knew that she needed to be careful with Patsy. She didn’t want to ruin this friendship, if they were still friends.

Perhaps Patsy had decided she was uncomfortable with being such close friends. After all, they didn’t really talk to any of the other nurses, except for the rare occasion that they had been out to the Nurse’s Dance and even then it was only polite conversation.

The other nurses thought that Delia wasn’t as educated as them. She stood out due to her Welsh accent, compared to the other posh girls who clearly thought she was some sort of “country bumpkin.” But Patsy had managed to see through “that” whatever it was, Patsy liked her, well had liked her.

Delia’s mood dropped instantly as she remembered Patsy brushing her off without so much of an explanation why. They had been getting along so well, Delia didn’t understand it.

Meanwhile, Patsy was still puzzling over everything in her mind as well. The whole situation reminded Patsy of Boarding School, that girl. Her name was Joan, she was new and Patsy - who didn’t have many friends there, volunteered to show her around.

Joan had thick brown hair, green eyes and a Newcastle accent and Patsy really liked her. They had been inseparable, the other girls used to joke about how close they were.

Until it had all gone wrong.

One night, Joan had produced a small bottle of whisky. Patsy had never drunk before but the two girls managed to finish off the entire bottle. Because they were in the Senior year they were all given their own rooms and that night they had both gone into Patsy’s, Joan produced the whisky and they each took it in turn to swig from the bottle.

The alcohol had gone straight to her head and as she sat there, she found herself gazing at Joan. Joan stared back at Patsy, unblinking and slowly they both leaned in.

And yet, once their lips had met there was nothing. Patsy hadn’t felt a spark, it was just awkward. In fact, she only felt relief once Joan had pulled away and quietly walked out of Patsy’s room. Patsy couldn’t sleep at all that night, she was shocked and afraid. She couldn’t believe that she had been so stupid, if Joan told the Mistress, Patsy’s whole school career would be ruined.

After a full night of tossing and turning Patsy woke up and dressed quickly, waiting for a knock on her bedroom door informing her that she needed to go and see her House-mistress.

Waiting for a knock that never came.

She never saw Joan again, a few weeks later she was told that she had left the school and had gone back to Newcastle. Patsy wasn’t sorry. She had to put on a sad face in front of the other girls, but in reality all Patsy felt was relief.

Joan had taught her a valuable lesson, in that Patsy needed to be more careful. She needed to tell Delia in a way that could be easily fixed if everything went wrong. She needed to look at every possible scenario, as much as she didn’t want to think about it, Delia might find Patsy disgusting for feeling that way.

Patsy had realised that she had no interest in boys a long time before Joan but once she had met Delia she knew that she would never, ever have any interest in anyone else. For that reason, Delia needed, no, she deserved to know. Even if she didn’t feel the same way.

 

Delia followed Patsy up the stairs, they had walked home in silence so it came as a surprise to Delia when Patsy grabbed hold of her wrist and pulled Delia into her bedroom.

She was expecting to go to her own room after last night’s awkward exchange. Patsy took a deep breath and looked at Delia in the eyes, suddenly she felt very nervous but she had made up her mind and Patience Mount always stuck to her plans.

“I’m sorry about last night.” She said in a small voice. “It was rude and frankly unforgivable of me to be so brusque and not explain why.”

Delia started to explain that it was fine, she was tired anyway but Patsy held up her hand, cutting her off.

“You see, Delia ever since I met you. Well, you’ve been different. An amazing friend. No, more than a friend. You mean so much to me, more than words can even begin to explain. You’ve helped me with my nightmares, we’ve shared drinks and made memories with each other. You’ve made me realise that it is possible to love in a way I didn’t think it was.”

Delia opened her mouth to speak but Patsy continued. “And I’m sorry but I don’t think I can carry on like this. I really like you Delia. More than a friend. I think I love you Delia. And it’s alright if you don’t feel the same way or you think it’s disgusting to feel this way, but I couldn’t not tell you. You deserve to know.”

Delia looked intently at Patsy. She didn’t walk away, she didn’t look horrified or disgusted.

“I’ve wanted to say that to you for months” Patsy said, “But if you-“

Delia reached out and touched Patsy’s cheek, stopping her mid sentence. Patsy gasped at the contact, but didn’t move away. Delia looked at her intently as they both began to move towards each other, closing the distance between them.

Suddenly she could feel Delia’s lips against her own, they were so soft and she tasted of everything Patsy would expect her to, sunshine and hope and love she didn’t know existed.

She closed her eyes, losing herself in the kiss and it deepened. Delia’s hands on Patsy’s cheeks, Patsy’s hands on Delia’s waist. It felt so right, nothing about this kiss felt sordid, or disgusting. It was just two people, two women in love.

Patsy knew it would be hard, but she also knew that this was the only thing she wanted, nothing else mattered except Delia. Patsy could feel Delia’s breath, hot against her lips.

“I’ve wanted to do that ever since I met you.” Delia whispered.

Patsy laughed, “Not as much as me.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I saw this really cute picture of Delia the other day with a little headscarf on whilst they were filming the pier scene. 
> 
> Who wants to petition with me to get Call the Midwife to GIVE US THE FUCKING PIER SCENE. THAT'S ALL I WANT IN MY ENTIRE LIFE PLEASE. 
> 
> Anyway, vintage lesbians go, go, go ;)<3 XX

Patsy smiled, reliving the memories of the past 24 hours. After admitting her feelings for Delia and having Delia accept that, and reciprocate those feelings, was more than Patsy could have ever wished for. She laughed softly when she thought of all the times Delia had let something slip, like the word “beautiful” and Patsy had been too proud to admit that, maybe, Delia did like her.

Especially after Patsy had been so difficult to get to know. It was clear from the start that Patsy had an unforgiving personality, but Delia had managed to get past that, help her, love her. And Patsy loved Delia right back. 

 

Delia was sat in her room, smile imprinted on her face thinking about what had happened last night. Her mind ran wild thinking about the past few months, about how everything had suddenly fallen into place. She could still feel Patsy’s lips on hers, feel the warm breath, hot against her lips. Any thing that had happened in the last few months was now irrelevant, it was her and Patsy against the world. 

It was just a shame that the world wouldn’t get to see it. 

But she couldn’t think like that, after everything they had been through- Patsy with the internment camp, and Delia with her over protective parents, who almost resented her for moving away from home. They were both there for each other, perhaps not where the world could see, but behind closed doors was enough. 

Delia quickly got up and dressed, almost running in her haste to see Patsy. She went down the corridor to her room. Delia paused when she got to Patsy’s room, what was she supposed to do, knock or just walk in? And how was she supposed to act after what had happened last night? Like nothing had happened? What was she supposed to say? All these thoughts buzzed around Delia’s brain, she took a deep breath, steadied herself and knocked on Patsy’s door, half expecting no one to answer, she was a little surprised when Patsy opened the door. Her face bursting into a smile as soon as she saw Delia. 

“Deels!” She said excitedly. “Come in.”

Patsy moved back from the door, inviting Delia inside, into the room where they had shared that intimate moment just last night. Delia’s face flushed thinking about it, she couldn’t believe it had happened. She went and sat on Patsy’s bed and invited Patsy to sit next to her. 

“Deels, are you inviting me to sit on my own bed?” Patsy laughed.

Delia looked a bit shame-faced. “Oh, sorry I was just-“

“I was joking. Look budge over a bit and then I can sit down.”

She clambered over Delia, and eventually settled with her head on the headboard and legs on top of Delia’s. 

“Comfy?” Delia asked laughing 

“Very.” Patsy said, winking at Delia who blushed.

“I thought I was supposed to be the cheeky one.” Delia said, winking straight back at Patsy and grinning.

“You’ve got that right. What would I be then?” Patsy questioned.

Delia stared at her. “You’re the beautiful one.” 

She reached out her hand, smiling gently and stroked Patsy’s cheek, imitating what had happened last night. Patsy’s hands found their way onto her waist. They both leaned in, mouths seeking each other, yearning for intimacy and the love they had shared the night before. 

Kissing Delia was incredible, their bodies melted into one, hands interlinked like they never wanted to let go. Nothing could even come close to this. The kisses she had given in Boarding School were pathetic kisses compared to Delia. Electricity tingled all throughout Patsy’s lips, it was explosive and incredible, they matched, they became one.

They were made for each other. 

 

Patsy went about her placement on Orthopaedics happier than she had been, well, ever. Her mind focused on one thing: Delia. She carried on with a smile to all patients, even the awfully grumpy Mr Davis couldn’t dampen her mood. She had finally met someone who she loved and who loved her back. She didn’t use that word “love” lightly either so Delia meant a lot to her. 

Patience Elizabeth Mount was supposed to be steely, focused and yet she felt like a love-sick teenager. Her mind constantly flicking back to the taste of Delia’s lips, how soft they were, how she made Patsy feel.

Meanwhile, on the Paediatrics ward, Delia was doing the exact same thing. Her mind constantly thinking of Patsy. Normally she loved working with the children, helping them, playing games to keep them occupied. But today she couldn’t focus, even the Ward Sister had noticed.

“Come on Nurse Busby, Thomas needs his temperature taken whilst you are busy standing there looking around.”

Delia jumped into action, shaking her head to try and stop herself thinking of Patsy. She needed to be focused and in control whilst she worked on the Children’s ward, anything could happen very suddenly and there were a lot of very poorly children. 

Damn Patsy and her lips and her bleach-and-perfume smell and her hair and... 

Stop it Busby, she told herself. Mooning over a woman whilst you’re supposed to be working. 

And yet, for the remainder of their shifts, all Patsy and Delia did was think of each other. They didn’t know how to stop it. 

But, to be honest, neither of them really wanted to.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By request of HospitalCorners I have updated again! ;)
> 
> I hope that this is OK, I wasn't sure whether it would fit in with actual Pats&Deels, but 'Creative license' I suppose? ;)
> 
> Tell me what you think :)<3 XX

Delia wasn’t expecting to get any post so it came as a surprise when Patsy entered her room holding a single letter with Delia’s name on it.

“Here you are Deels, Matron called me when I was downstairs and asked if I would bring this to you.”

Delia looked down at the penmanship on the letter, she would recognise her Mam’s copperplate anywhere, quickly turning it over she opened it. 

 

Delia,  


I have decided to come and visit you in London, I have found a hotel called The Victoria and booked a weekend stay. I hope this isn’t an inconvenience but I would very much like it if you could book these days off so we could have some time together, I haven’t seen you in so long. Your father cannot close the shop and so I will be getting the train down alone, it would be most pleasant if you could come and meet me and then we could go back to the hotel for afternoon lunch. I will of course be visiting your Auntie Blod, but I will arrange that separately.  


Love, Mam.

 

Delia sat in silence, reading the letter again. Her Mam was, as usual very brusque, telling Delia what she was doing and forcefully making Delia do what she wanted her to do. Patsy gently removed the letter and read it through, noting the formal manner. 

“Well”, she said at last. “I will, of course be coming with you to meet your formidable Mother.”

“No, Pats you don’t have to, you don’t need to meet her yet. It’s fine, I’ll just have to rearrange all my shifts and...” Delia began to panic, her Mam was coming, bulldozing her way in as usual and organising everything Delia did, which wasn’t anything new.

“No, Delia. I am coming, we will see your mother, have some lunch and politely excuse ourselves. We will just say that we have been invited to a Nurses Dance which we can’t get out of because we already agreed to it. There!” Patsy said triumphantly, “The perfect excuse.”

Delia slowly nodded, that sounded convincing. “Only if you promise we can have a drink afterwards, I will need something a lot stronger than tea to get through this.”

Patsy laughed, “Deels, you are awful, I’m sure your mother isn’t that bad!”

“She’s worse.” Delia said solemnly. Suddenly she giggled, “But with you there it won’t be that bad. Moral support!” 

“When is she actually coming?” Patsy asked.

Delia looked at the letter again and groaned.  
“Next weekend!” She said. “She could have given more notice than that, I don’t think she realises exactly how difficult it is to swap shifts around!”

“Deels, stop panicking it’s fine. You will be able to get the time off, it’s only one day!”

Delia sighed, “I know, I just hate having to organise my life around my Mam. I have left home, she shouldn’t still be able to control me like this. She’s expecting me to follow her orders and to be quite frank I am sick and tired of doing what she says!”

Patsy stood silently, she had never seen Delia this angry before. She realised now how upset Delia got whenever her Mam tried to tell her what to do. She wasn’t a child anymore, she had left Pembrokeshire and was following her own path in life. 

Seeing Delia like this made Patsy all the more determined to see Mrs Busby, she would do everything to make sure Mrs Busby didn’t undermine or upset Delia further.

In the meantime Delia needed to calm down. Patsy pulled Delia off the bed and into her arms. She rested her forehead on Delia’s and they stood there for a couple of minutes in silence, it was so nice to stand there together. Delia had waited so long to say that word ‘together.’

“Once all this is over I have a surprise for you.” Patsy whispered.

“Pats you don’t have to do that.” Delia said, lowering her voice she saw Patsy’s lips twist into a smile. “It had better be a good surprise though, I don’t think I can cope with any more bad news.” 

Patsy laughed softly. “It will definitely be a good surprise, and that’s how it will stay. A surprise I mean, don’t try and wheedle it out of me because I won’t tell you!”

Delia pouted, “I can’t believe you’d think that I would!” 

She grinned cheekily and took a step back. Then, standing on her tiptoes she gently pressed her lips against Patsy’s, Patsy was clearly taken by surprise but then recovered and put one hand on Delia’s waist. Delia smiled through the kiss, revelling in Patsy’s touch. 

“Pats.” She whispered, still against Patsy’s lips.  


"Deels.” Patsy answered.

“Rwy'n dy garu di.” She said softly, closing her eyes.

Patsy smiled. “What does that mean?” She asked.

Delia blushed, opening her eyes looking down at the floor and shuffling her feet. 

“It means, I love you in Welsh.” She admitted, still looking at the floor.

Patsy gently cupped a hand on Delia’s chin and pulled her face up to look at her. “In that case.” She said, bringing Delia in for another kiss, smiling as she did so. 

“I love you too.”

Realising as she said it, that she really, really did.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHO SHOULD BE DOING EXAM REVISION BUT IS WRITING & ADDING TO THIS FANFIC?  
> This gal.
> 
> The lovely feedback from the last chapter has prompted me to update again, so here you go fanfuckingtastic this one's for you! ;)<3

The week passed annoyingly quickly and with every passing day Patsy could feel Delia’s nerves fraying. However, their time alone in Patsy’s room made everything seem normal again. It made Delia forget about everything that was happening, and made her think, instead, about the future. 

Her future with Patsy. 

She couldn’t believe that she had been so lucky, she never thought that she would find anyone that could admit that they were, well, “queer”. Let alone someone like Patsy who she had very clearly fallen in love with, and she was quite sure that Patsy had fallen in love with her right back.

 

Delia rolled over and looked at the small clock that was on her bedside cabinet, sighing when she saw the time. They had arranged to meet her Mam at the train station at 12 o’clock and have lunch at half-past. She said to Patsy to be downstairs at quarter past ten so they could have breakfast and then walk to the station together, Delia got out of bed, swinging her feet onto the cold floor and shivering. She grabbed her dressing gown from the chair it was draped over, and picked up her wash-things for a bath.

She opened her door quietly and sneaked down the corridor to get the bathroom before anyone else, they had more than one bathroom but the closest one to Delia’s room was almost always occupied. She gave a sigh of relief when she turned the door handle and it swung open, completely empty. Locking the door behind her and padding across the lino in her bare feet, she ran the bath water and stripped quickly, setting her dressing gown and pyjamas on the stool next to the bath.

Once it was an agreeable temperature she slid into the water and set about washing her hair, lathering up the shampoo and dunking her head under the water. Delia quickly washed her body and then got out of the bath, she wouldn’t hear the end of it from her Mam if she didn’t dress nicely. She grimaced, remembering the days she had been forced into clothes that she hated and getting a slap if she dirtied them. Delia would have much rather been climbing trees and exploring with her friends instead of sitting in a parlour having tea and cake and listening to her mother say:

“Isn’t this nice?” 

Delia would smile politely and nod whilst trying to make conversation and act how her mother thought she should. She was so glad that she had become a nurse and left Pembrokeshire. Delia didn’t hate her Mam, not at all, she just didn’t understand why she was so insistent on trying to control every single aspect of Delia’s life. Looking back, Delia couldn’t believe that she had lived with it for so long but today was just another visit and Delia would have to grin and bear it. Mind you, with Patsy there, it surely couldn’t be as bad as normal.

Once Delia had left the bathroom, she walked briskly to her room before flinging open her wardrobe doors and looking at the clothes she could wear. Finally, she decided on a sunny yellow dress that came to just below the knee, paired with a white cardigan and white shoes with a slight heel. Looking at herself in the mirror, she nodded slightly and started to work on her hair. Tying it up in a loose ponytail and brushing her fringe she slipped on her shoes and her cardigan, picked up her bag and went downstairs to find Patsy.

Patsy turned around as Delia walked into the kitchen, grinning widely when she saw who it was. 

“Hello Deels!” She said, checking to see if there was anyone behind Delia.

“Hello Pats.” She replied, “Looking for anyone in particular?”

“Just a short, no wait, petite Welsh woman with long brown hair and dimples. Have you seen her?” She joked, pretending to look over Delia’s shoulder again.  


Delia shook her head, trying to suppress a smile and paint a picture of innocence on her face. “Can’t say I have.” She said. “Oh, hang on. Are you thinking of Mary?” 

“Mary with the short, tightly permed blonde hair, about six feet tall who hardly ever smiles? No you fool, I’m talking about you.” 

Delia feigned surprise as she looked at Patsy with a grin on her face. “What are you making for breakfast then Pats?” She asked wrapping an arm around the taller woman.

Patsy took a step back, unwrapping herself from Delia and pointed to the toast under the grill and a pot of jam. Delia tried to push down the hurt that surfaced when Patsy had extracted herself from her touch and instead put on a smile as she looked at the breakfast that was being prepared.

They got into a production line, Delia taking the toast out from the grill and smothering it in butter and Patsy putting on the jam and plating it up. Several pieces of toast later, they were sat at the table with warm toast and a cup of tea. Delia looked at what Patsy was wearing, a green dress, slightly tight but flared at the bottom just below the knee. She wore a light grey cardigan and a pair of green heels to match the dress. When Patsy saw Delia looking, she smoothed down her dress with a nervous expression on her face. 

“Does this look alright Deels? I don’t want your Mother to think badly of me at first sight.”

“You look absolutely lovely.” She winked at Patsy who blushed. 

“Come on then, we don’t want to be late.” Patsy said looking at her watch.

They both stood up and walked towards the door, Delia opened it and held it for Patsy who slipped outside and gave a grateful nod. The two girls took a leisurely stroll to the station, neither were in a rush to get there and it showed in the way they were walking. Patsy, who normally walked in a brusque, efficient manner took her time to match her pace with Delia’s. They smiled at each other as they came to a stop outside the train station, Delia took a deep breath and grabbed Patsy’s arm dragging her inside. 

Delia hadn’t actually told her Mam that Patsy would be joining them but Delia planned to leave no time for her mother to wonder why. 

“Delia!” Delia heard her Mother’s harsh, patronising tone before she saw her. 

Pasting a slight smile on her face, she turned around to face her. Patsy did the same, a beat behind.

“How lovely to see you again Mam.” Delia said, ever polite Patsy noted.

“Hmm, well. Are you ready to go?” She said impatiently, “And who is this?” She asked, finally registering that Patsy was indeed with her and Delia, and not just stood there waiting for someone else.

“My name is Patsy, Mrs Busby I work with Delia. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Delia has been telling me so much about you, and her childhood back in Pembrokeshire.” 

“Hmm, well Delia always was very boisterous as a child, constantly going against whatever me or her Father told her to do. I should imagine she didn’t mention that part!” Mrs Busby huffed.

Patsy felt Delia take a sharp intake of breath, she wanted desperately to put a her arm around her, get rid of Mrs Busby and have their lunch together by themselves. But she couldn’t do that, so she contented herself by giving Delia’s arm a quick squeeze, one so quick that nobody could have seen it. Even in this crowded train station which they needed to get out of.

“Well, Delia’s childhood sounds perfectly jolly to me, climbing trees and having adventures sounds amazing. I didn’t get those opportunities as a child, running around the city surprisingly isn’t as well looked upon as the countryside!” Quickly deflecting Mrs Busby’s slight jibe at Delia, she took control of the situation.

“And now, perhaps we should get out of this train station. It’s awfully smoky in here.”

She saw Mrs Busby give a slight nod, Patsy led the way. Delia following quickly behind with her Mam bringing up the rear. Grumbling about how she had to carry her own suitcase and why there weren’t any ‘young men’ around to help.

Delia and Patsy had planned to flag down a taxi, however they couldn’t stand being in an enclosed space with Mrs Busby and her incessant moaning for any longer than necessary. 

Patsy didn’t know how Delia could have stood it, firstly she moaned about the soot from the train getting in everything, then she began to moan about how busy everywhere was. 

“It’s not like this in Pembrokeshire.” She said.

That’s because it’s not Pembrokeshire. Patsy thought.

Meanwhile, Delia had managed to tune out her Mam’s constant moaning. Instead, she began thinking about how Patsy was putting up with all of this: seeing her mother, even having lunch with her. She giggled inwardly when she though of the triumphant look that had appeared on Patsy’s face when she made up the excuse that they would be using very shortly. 

She thought of Patsy’s hair, how soft it was when it wasn’t coated in a thick cloud of lacquer. She thought of her eyes- you could lose yourself in them, and she thought of her perfect china-doll skin, skin which never tanned, no matter the amount of sun that was exposed to it.

Finally, she thought about her kisses, sweet as honey, kisses that made your brain forget everything and made your stomach do a loop-the-loop.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Procrastination is NOT my friend. Instead of revising for my exam tomorrow I have: made macarons, read a book and finally written some more of this fic.
> 
> On the plus side, The Actual Goddess that is EMERALD FENNELL has liked another one of my tweets so I'm in an amazing mood.
> 
> Here's another update, bit O' angst and Mrs Busby, if you weren't aware I very strongly dislike Mrs Busby with a passion but I've tried to not make it too harsh. Enjoy and any feedback would be much appreciated! <3 XX

They eventually arrived at Mrs Busby’s Hotel, Delia watched as her Mam who clearly couldn’t stand not being in control, marched inside, not waiting for Patsy and Delia to follow. They exchanged a look and a deep sigh before walking inside.

“Come on girls, we need to order tea!” Mrs Busby said impatiently, as if they had taken hours to walk into the reception, instead of the few minutes that it actually had done. They meekly followed, Patsy mentally preparing herself and Delia silently fuming at the way her Mam was behaving. 

Patsy gave Delia’s arm a quick squeeze as they were walking in, she could tell how annoyed Mrs Busby made Delia, almost every word that came out of her mouth was negative. She constantly moaned and belittled everything.

Once they had sat down Patsy could appreciate the differences between Mrs Busby and Delia. Whilst Delia had a bright, sunny personality, her Mam was the complete opposite. Delia regularly smiled, showing her dimples- one of the many things Patsy especially loved about her. On the other hand, Patsy didn’t think she had seen Mrs Busby smile at all since they had picked her up from the train station. Her lips were always slightly twisted, as if she was looking at everything with a distasteful expression. Which, to be perfectly honest, was probably the case.

However, despite their very different personalities they were roughly the same height with the same face shape and eye colour. Luckily though, they had completely different traits and characteristics - for which Patsy was very grateful. 

Smiling politely at Mrs Busby, Patsy had a small drink of tea, trying to mask the smile from behind the teacup as she saw Delia glare in her Mam’s direction, clearly still annoyed after earlier.

“There’s scum on this tea.” Mrs Busby said pointedly, “You wouldn’t get that in Pembrokeshire.”

“So, Mam. How have you been?” Delia said politely, ignoring what she had just said, as if she were talking to a complete stranger and not her own Mother.

“As well as can be expected” She said, not waiting for Delia to ask what she meant. “Look, Cariad, me and your Father have been talking and we’ve been wondering why you haven’t found yourself a male friend yet. I’m sure there are many nice doctors up at that hospital you were so insistent on going to.” 

Delia opened her mouth but nothing came out she stared blankly at her Mam, suddenly her whole visit made sense. She had clearly only come to see Delia to ask that question.

Meanwhile Patsy could tell how upset Delia was, Mrs Busby surely didn’t realise- or didn’t care, just how insulting she was being. Travelling all the way to London to visit, when she was only interested in one thing- Delia’s love life. Patsy couldn’t sit there for much longer watching Delia stare down her Mother.

“Well, Mrs Busby. Nurses are strictly forbidden to have relationships with the Doctors.” Patsy said pointedly. Of course, the Nurses did anyway but Mrs Busby didn’t need to know anything about that.

“Hmm well, isn’t there anyone else Delia?” Her Mam asked, she clearly wasn’t going to stop asking her persistent questions until she got an answer and she was clearly going to ignore Patsy.

Delia knew that this was what Patsy wanted her to say. To stop any suspicion from her Mam, to stop the constant questions and the interrogation, she had to say:

“No.” 

She felt Patsy give another quick squeeze of her arm, as if to say: You had to do that, I would have done the same thing. Nothing has changed. 

The rest of the conversation was stilted, mostly her Mam asking Patsy where she had grown up. Patsy of course gave answers long enough to satisfy Mrs Busby but short enough that she didn’t actually reveal anything about the camp where she had spent those painful years. Delia noted that Patsy was an expert in steering the conversation back to more comfortable territory, quickly asking questions about Pembrokeshire and the Drapers shop that Delia’s father owned.

Eventually, after what had been a very awkward afternoon, They excused themselves carefully from Mrs Busby’s company with an awkward kiss on the cheek from Patsy and a hug and a promise to write from Delia. They quickly walked outside into the sun, giggling like mad. 

“Oh dear.” Patsy said, “Is your Mother usually like that?”

“What do you think?” Delia answered.

They walked towards “The Silver Buckle” where they planned to send the rest of their afternoon, Delia linked arms with Patsy who stayed like that for a few moments before pulling away.

Delia couldn’t stop herself. “Why can you not bring yourself to touch me at all?” She asked, looking Patsy in the face, pulling on her arm to stop her from walking away in the street. They stood there looking at each other. 

Patsy glanced down at the floor, shuffling her feet before bringing her gaze up to Delia. “I just don’t want anyone to suspect that. You know.” She mumbled. Delia almost didn’t hear what she said. Almost. 

“Pats loads of girls link arms in the street who are friends. It’s not abnormal, no one would think anything of it.” She hissed in a low whisper, looking around the street to make sure that no one had heard the argument between the two girls.

Patsy grabbed her arm and pulled her into a side alley, so that they could continue their conversation without anyone overhearing them. “It’s not that. It’s just- well in fact I suppose it is that. I just don’t want anyone to think anything of it. It’s just a precaution.”

“Patsy in the eyes of everyone else we don’t exist! Apparently this doesn’t exist.” Delia shot back, determined that she would show Patsy that there was nothing wrong with displaying friendly affection in a public place.

“Exactly, and that’s why we need to be careful. I’m sure you’ve heard about those men in Psychiatric, it only takes one person to suspect anything and then suddenly we would end up there as well. I couldn’t bear life without you Deels.” She said, finally looking at Delia properly.

“My feelings for you don’t change any more or any less depending on someone else’s judgement. My love for you doesn’t change anyone else’s life, it doesn’t affect anyone else in any way. I just hate this so much!” She said, furiously.

“I know. And I hate it too. But I don’t hate you Delia. And so I think we need to sleep this off. I’ll meet you tomorrow.” And with that, Patsy turned on her heel and stalked away in the direction of the Nurses Home. 

Delia could feel tears threatening to fall down her cheeks by the tell-tale prickling in her eyes. Her head was throbbing as she wiped her face with her sleeve, took a deep breath and stepped out of the alley. It had been going so well with Patsy and now it was ruined. The taller woman was renowned for being slightly off hand and prickly with everyone else, but with Delia she was a completely different person.

Delia couldn’t bear to go back to the Nurses Home yet, she would only end up moping around in her room. After all, the only person she usually talked to was Patsy, bar a couple of girls who were on shift anyway. 

She walked around for a couple of hours trying to gather her thoughts, Patsy’s face when she told Delia how much she hated the situation they were in kept swimming around Delia’s brain. She over analysed every conversation they had had ever since they got together, searching for anything that might seem that Patsy didn’t want to be in a relationship with her. Patsy was, well she was stunning, she could easily find a man who she could marry and have children with.

And yet, Patsy had told her before how she hated the obligatory ‘Get married and have children before you’re 30 or else you are doomed to a life of being a spinster.’ Patsy had voiced how she would much rather be a spinster than be married to a man whom she had no interest in. 

Delia on the other hand had always dreamed of a big wedding, her whole family surrounding her as she walked towards the woman of her dreams. That had been Patsy until a few hours ago. Of course, that would probably never happen in her life time. As much as Delia tried to be optimistic, she couldn’t see any change in view towards people like her happening any time soon.

Delia wiped her eyes again, took a deep breath and walked back on the direction of the Nurses Home. By the time she got back it was dark, she rushed upstairs not wanting anyone to see her tear stained face for fear that they would start asking questions that would be impossible to answer. She ran into her room and shut the door, sitting on her bed and taking her shoes off. 

Doing all the mundane, mindless tasks before changing into the pyjamas she had stolen from Patsy a few weeks previous, getting into her bed and staring blankly at the book that she had picked up off her bedside table.

After half an hour she shut the book and turned off her lamp, rolling over and facing away from the door. Delia pretended not to notice when she heard the door open a couple of minutes later and she pretended not to hear the low whisper of her name.

“Delia.” 

She felt a weight sit down on her bed and heard a voice thick with tears say her name again.

“Delia.” 

She felt the covers be lifted up and Patsy slide into her bed as well, she felt arms around her waist and Patsy’s hot breath on her neck.

“I wanted to say I’m sorry. And I know you’re awake.” 

Delia rolled over quickly to face Patsy.  
“I’m sorry as well. I shouldn’t have said I hated it. I would and I will forgo everything to be with you Patsy. Rwy'n dy garu di.” She said softly, closing her eyes and putting her forehead against Patsy’s. 

“I love you too Delia Busby. Don’t forget that. “ Patsy pressed soft lips against Delia’s, opening her mouth slightly and putting her hand up Delia’s top. Cupping a breast in one hand with the other on Delia’s waist. 

Delia moaned before gently pushing Patsy away. “Not tonight. Not whilst we’re still feeling like this.” She planted a solid kiss on Patsy’s lips before saying, “Now come on, you’re little spoon.”

Patsy smiled when she felt Delia’s arms wrap around her waist and the hot breath on the back of her neck. She closed her eyes and they stayed like that until the morning.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've actually really struggled to write this chapter, I've deleted all of it several times. I think that since we've had the awful news about Pupcake I've had a little bit of writer's block with this fic. 
> 
> I have however, finally updated so please, please tell me what you think because I'm really unsure about this one :/. <3 <3

Patsy and Delia’s relationship had been slightly strained since their argument, it didn’t help that their shift patterns hadn’t matched up for the past couple of weeks so they were restrained to quick kisses in the bedroom and a promise of seeing each other once Matron had sorted out the lates properly. 

Eventually Patsy had had enough and she decided that it was time to give Delia the surprise that she had been promised. After a lot of deliberation she had determined that a short holiday was required, preferably one by the sea. Money was no issue, her Father had been steadily filling up her bank account since she’d been at Boarding school, she’d barely made a dent in it so far, all she needed to do now was find a place to go and somewhere to stay. Neither girl had asked for any time off since they’d been working, so Patsy was sure that there wouldn’t be an issue with that, especially seeing as it would only be a couple of days – 3 to be exact. 

She searched for hours, before finding a small seaside town a train journey away. The best part about it though, was the fact that there were many guest houses to let out so the two girls could finally have some privacy. Her request to Matron was approved – just. The hospital had been a little short staffed so she was reluctant to let them go, but seeing as they had been doing late shifts for the past couple of weeks it would be unjust to say no.

Finally everything had been booked and Patsy could relax. Her mind drifted back to the arguments that they had had recently – all linked to the fact that Patsy was so cautious within their relationship. Patsy was so lucky to have found Delia but she was also scared of losing her, if they were found out they would lose their jobs and their livelihood. They would be forced apart and Patsy had already lost nearly everyone in her life, she was determined not to lose Delia. 

 

A couple of days later on a sunny Friday afternoon, Patsy finished packing her suitcase and shut it with a resounding ‘click’. She sighed and leaned back as she surveyed the room around her, the bottles of perfume lined up on her cabinet, the chair in the corner of the room, “The Crucible” perched on her nightstand, bookmark still marking her place. Picking up her coat from the bed and slipping it on her shoulders, Patsy grabbed her heels and her suitcase before shutting her door and creeping down the hallway to Delia’s room. Delia opened the door a slightly bemused expression on her face until she laid eyes on Patsy and what she was holding.

“Are you OK Pats?” She asked, before ushering her into the small room. “I was just tidying up but if you want-“  


"Have you got a suitcase Delia?” Patsy asked, cutting her off mid sentence.

“Yes it’s just up there, why ever do you want it though, and why have you got yours with you?” Delia asked persistently, gesturing on top of her wardrobe where the suitcase was situated.

“Well luckily my height will come in handy for this!” Patsy said reaching a hand up and effortlessly pulling the suitcase down, before handing it to Delia and instructing her to put it on the bed. “Now I’m going to pack this because I want it to be a complete surprise. I’ll be 5 minutes, just wait outside the door.”

Delia shook her head at Patsy’s bizarre request but did as she asked, quickly leaving the room and shutting the door behind her. Patsy flung open the doors of Delia’s wardrobe and began taking out the dresses that would be best suited to the possible chilly weather that would come from being next to the sea. Once she had picked out a couple of dresses and chosen cardigans to go with them she searched through Delia’s undergarments for the swimming costume that she had seen a couple of weeks previous. Finally, Patsy picked up a pair of shoes and the other small necessities like a hairbrush and Delia’s perfume. 

Clicking the suitcase shut, she looked around the room to double check that she hadn’t forgotten anything. Satisfied that everything had been packed or tidied away, Patsy opened the door onto Delia who jumped up but recovered herself.

The two girls walked out into the sunshine, strolling along in a comfortable silence.

“What have you got planned for us then Pats?” Delia asked flashing Patsy her cheeky grin, all the dimples on show.

“Ah Busby now that would be telling! Now come on, we don’t want to miss the train.” 

“So it’s a train then?” She said to herself.

Suddenly she realised Patsy had walked on ahead and she had to do a little run to try and catch up. 

“Come on Deels!” She heard Patsy call as she managed to catch up with the taller red head.

“Hey, you know that you’re taller than me so you walk faster! It’s not my fault that I was born small and perfectly formed Pats!” She gave her a small smug grin before laughing and running ahead.

“Hey! That’s not fair I can’t run with both these suitcases!” Patsy called after Delia’s figure who turned and laughed.

“Life’s not fair.” Delia called back but she did stop and wait for Patsy to catch up with her, trying to help Patsy with the suitcases who refused and pulled away gently from Delia.

“No Deels, I’m doing this. Besides we’re at the train station now anyway.” She said, pointing. 

After collecting the tickets they boarded the train, luckily there was an empty carriage so the two girls were able to sit closer together than usual. It was clear to Delia that since the argument, Patsy had been trying to act more relaxed in public. She was definitely still reserved but Delia was glad of that, there needed to be an element of caution because they would lose everything if anyone ever found out about their relationship. 

The train slowly left the station and Delia was soon able to lose herself in the rolling green fields, much like the scenery in Pembrokeshire. Leaning her head on Patsy’s shoulder, she felt her flinch slightly but then she took Delia’s hand and squeezed it gently. They sat like that for a couple of hours, the train carried on driving through the countryside until eventually it drove further in-land and then out again. Delia sat up and gasped. 

“The sea!” She looked at Patsy who nodded, laughing at the childlike look of excitement on Delia’s face. 

“If I knew that you would have been this excited I would have brought you here before! Haven’t you been to the sea before?” She asked, turning her head to look at Delia.

“Pats your father was a ship’s broker who travelled the world, mine owned a drapers shop in Pembrokeshire, I can’t remember ever leaving the village to do sightseeing, let alone going to visit the seaside.” Delia scoffed at Patsy, still transfixed by the clear blue ocean that was coming more into focus as the train drove ever nearer.

“Well then Miss Busby, I’d better make this the best weekend by the sea that you can ever imagine. I just can’t believe that you’ve never been before!” Patsy teased, nudging Delia.

The two women sat there in a comfortable silence, Delia still staring at the sea and Patsy looking at the beautiful woman sat next to her, the woman currently obsessed with the sea, the woman who loved all animals and children and the woman who had managed to open Patsy’s heart and show her the world. 

The train finally stopped at the station, Patsy grabbed the suitcases and they both hopped off. Grabbing the map with the instructions on how to get to the house, Patsy led the way, her long legs giving her the advantage over Delia. After a few wrong turns and false starts they eventually made it, Patsy retrieved the key from her pocket and unlocked the door before allowing Delia to go in first.

“Hang on Pats, are we not staying in a hotel?” She asked turning around to look at the red head.

“Oh no sorry, I thought this might be better but if you want to go into a hotel I could always book one, I’m sure that they’ll be one some-“ Patsy’s tirade was stopped by Delia’s lips on her own.

“It’s perfect.” Delia whispered. “Absolutely perfect. I couldn’t wish for anything more.”


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, so basically this got kind of smutty at the end so you can skip it when you get towards the bottom if you aren't bothered with that.
> 
> Thank you to my incredible beta @HospitalCorners on tumblr who has helped me through the awkwardness of writing first ever smut and encouraged me the whole time.
> 
> Read on and enjoy! <3 XX

“Come on Busby!” Patsy said, “Let’s sort this out.”

The two women walked into the bedroom, Delia gasped as she saw the large double bed that was taking up most of the room and Patsy laughed out loud when she saw the normally controlled Delia take a running jump and land squarely in the middle of the duvet. 

“You got us a double bed? Oh Pats!”

Delia couldn’t believe that the incredible woman standing in front of her had managed to do all of this and even better they would be able to sleep in the same bed with enough space. As much as Delia loved sleeping in the same bed with Patsy at the Nurse’s Home, it was a little tricky on a single with one on top of the covers and one underneath just in case they heard any noise that could signify their Head of House coming to check that there was no one breaking curfew.

“I checked with all of the houses to see which ones had double beds and which didn’t, I’ve made up plenty of lies so I should expect that I won’t be going to heaven after that, but it’s worth it!” Patsy said,, turning red as she realised what she had said.

“Well Patience Mount,” Delia said as Patsy grimaced at the use of her full name. “You are just my favourite romantic! Now, what do you say to going for a walk? I can’t wait to see the sea and I don’t think I can wait until tomorrow to get a proper look.” Delia grinned cheekily at Patsy who couldn’t supress the corners of her mouth from turning up into a grin.

“Come on then Delia Carys Busby.” Patsy said, laughing at Delia’s shocked expression.

“Pats. How did you find out my middle name? I have never told you that and don’t try to say that I did because I know for a fact that I have never revealed that information.” Delia questioned persistently. 

Patsy grabbed her coat and passed Delia hers, not answering anything a smile still imprinted on her face as though she was on the verge of laughing every time she thought of Delia, mouth open as she heard her middle name being spoken.

“No but seriously Patsy how did you find that out?” Delia was determined to discover the source of Patsy’s information. 

“A magician never reveals her secrets, so as much as you would like to know I won’t answer. Even if you beg me for it.” Patsy grabbed the key that she had placed on the side and ushered Delia out of the house, locking the door behind them.

They wandered slowly down the street, enjoying the sun that warmed their faces and made them realise just how lucky they were. Patsy realised then that although they might have to hide themselves from everyone else, their love existed and was precious and valuable just like all the other couples in the world. She wasn’t sure why they weren’t accepted but Patsy loved Delia Carys Busby and no one else could ever change those feelings.

“Ae you alright Pats?” Delia asked, taking a breath from the anecdote she was telling Patsy about her older cousins who (when she was really little) told her that if she held her breath in a lake for two minutes then they would buy her a Fry’s bar of peppermint cream. They didn’t of course but Delia was pulled out of the lake by her Mam who brought her home and told her in no uncertain terms that ‘ladies don’t do that sort of thing.’ That just made Delia ten times more determined to do all the things that ‘ladies didn’t do’ to show her Mam.

“Pardon? Oh yes sorry. Don’t worry it’s fine, carry on.” Patsy said looking at Delia’s concerned face. 

“Alright, well once I’d climbed yet another tree and been brought home to my Mam in a disgrace, she had had enough and asked me if I was determined to act like a little boy and show her up in front of all the neighbours. I of course said no but I must have smiled as I said it because she sent me upstairs in disgrace. It was fine in the end though, because I escaped out the window somehow and went down the village to buy some sweets, all before she even thought about coming upstairs to see what I was doing.” 

“Delia!” Patsy exclaimed, mouth open as she took in the sight of the woman before her and tried to picture a rough-and-tumble child who climbed trees and nearly drowned herself in lakes just to spite her Mam. She could imagine a toothy child with a dark fringe and deep brown eyes, being forced into a dress when all she really wanted to wear was a pair of dungarees – it was funny because the Delia stood in front of her now only ever wore dresses and cardigans, a massive contrast to the child that she had painted a picture of.

“Patsy, if you had lived with my Mam for as long as me then you would have done the same. I mean, she never even let me in the kitchen! Granted that was because of the time that I tried to cook and nearly burnt the house down when she had gone to do some shopping but I was only trying to help her. Besides, you could barely put up with her for one afternoon, I had to put up with her for all those years. I’m surprised that I am actually standing here,.” She looked down at her hands in mock surprise. “Are these real? Am I real?”

Patsy noticed a small side alley and pulled Delia into it. “You feel real to me.” She said as she pressed her lips against Delia, who responded in kind. They both stood there for a second before pulling apart and walking out as casually as possible, there wasn’t anyone around but they couldn’t be too careful. They sauntered down the street, cheeks slightly pink until they turned the corner and there it was. The vast, glittering ocean seemed to welcome Delia towards it and she turned round to Patsy with an expression of wonder on her face.

Patsy laughed as Delia grabbed her hand, squeezed it quickly and then let go. In that split second decision, Patsy decided that they were in a place where nobody would know them and like Delia had been telling her for the last couple of months – lots of girls who were friends held hands, nobody would think anything of it.

Patsy reached forward for Delia’s hand, who turned around in surprise as she felt the cooler skin touch her own, fingers entwined they both started to walk down to the ocean. They separated once they had neared the ocean as Delia decided that she wanted to go for a paddle, Patsy watched on in amusement as shoes and stockings were quickly removed and the smaller brunette edged cautiously towards the water. 

“Oh Pats it’s cold!” Delia exclaimed, water swishing around her ankle as she stood in the shallowest part of the ocean.

“It was never going to be bath water temperature Deels.” She called back, watching Delia as she decided that perhaps it would be better to go back the next day and assess the temperature then. They walked up the beach a little further, giving Delia’s feet the opportunity to dry a little so that she could put her shoes and stockings back on. 

Once they were ready to go, the two women found their way onto a small street that led to a row of tearooms and souvenir shops. Patsy wasn’t looking for any of that though, she had a very clear idea about where she wanted to take Delia and she was determined to find it.  
Eventually Patsy found what she was looking for and gave a audible sigh of relief once they came across it.

“Two haddock, chips and marrow fat peas, please.” She said, taking the money out of her purse and putting it on the counter as she was given two newspapers filled with the most delicious food she thought that she had ever smelled. 

“Come on Deels.” She said to Delia who was waiting outside. “I’m sure I saw a bench overlooking the sea that we can eat this on.” 

They walked along for a couple of minutes until they found the bench that Patsy had mentioned. It didn’t take them long to finish eating, the train journey had made then rather peckish and Delia kept stealing all of Patsy’s chips.

“Deels, why are you stealing all of my chips when you have a paper full of them?” Patsy asked.

“They always taste better when they aren’t yours.” She replied, lifting a chip up to her lips and smiling as she bit into it.

Patsy tried it herself, nicking a chip off of Delia and discovered that that statement was annoyingly true. Finally, all chips had been consumed and the two girls were able to get up and walk back to the house, trying to avoid the cold wind that had appeared out of nowhere. Once they got into the house, Patsy locked the door and the two girls quickly got changed into their pyjamas. 

Delia couldn’t stop herself and dived onto the bed as Patsy watched in amusement and then walked over and settled herself next to Delia on the bed. They looked at eachother, awkward for a moment before Delia moved forward and captured Patsy’s lips in her own. 

They had never kissed like this. It grew more heated, desperate. Patsy had her hand on Delia’s hip, fingers clinging to the material of her pyjamas. Something held her back though, she wasn’t sure whether it was all the times that she had to restrain herself at the Nurse’s Home or the fact that she didn’t want to force herself or this on top of Delia.

“Patsy.” Delia said, and suddenly that was enough. Her name, spoken on Delia’s full lips was enough to unlock whatever was stopping her and so that was how Patsy found herself undoing the buttons on Delia’s shirt. That was how she found herself holding one of Delia’s breasts and gently running the tip of her finger along it and that was how she found herself slowly inching her way towards Delia’s pyjama bottoms. 

“Delia”, she said. “Is this alright?” 

Delia nodded in reply and that was enough for Patsy because after all that time restricted to looking and not touching at the Nurse’s Home, she needed to see Delia. Quickly the bottoms were removed and Patsy could see wetness in Delia’s underwear, she knew what she had to do. Her hand found its way into Delia’s knickers and searched for what she was looking for, slipping two fingers inside she made quick, desperate movements. Delia writhed against her, trying to stop herself from crying out as Patsy worked on her body.

“Patsy.” There it was, that one word that made Patsy forget everything and focus on that moment in time. That moment that made the arguments, the pain and the lack of hope worth it. She could feel Delia’s hot skin close to her own, the creamy flesh exposed.

Patsy began at Delia’s lips and trailed wet kisses down to her breasts, before taking one of the hardened nipples in her mouth. She felt Delia twist against her as their hips rocked and jutted in perfect unison and heard her quiet moans as Patsy continued to dip her fingers in and out and play with the small bundle of nerves that began to bring Delia to her climax. She removed her fingers and grinned sheepishly at the impish look on Delia’s face.

“Pats.” She heard Delia breath and she felt herself being pulled into her touch. Her mind was filled with the images of Delia beneath her and she could still feel the heat that seemed to be radiating off of her body. As they lay there, bodies touching, skin exposed, it made Patsy realise exactly how lucky she was to have found Delia. 

They lay there in silence, revelling in each other’s company and focusing on that moment, the moment that made Delia realise that nothing would ever be the same again. It would be better. The moment that made Patsy realise exactly how much she loved the smaller brunette lying with her.

“Deels-“ “Pats-“ They both started at the same time before looking at eachother and laughing. It seemed so ridiculous that they had been so intimate a little less than ten minutes ago and yet they couldn’t even speak to each other properly afterwards. Then they realised that they didn’t need words to convey what they were thinking, in fact they didn’t need to speak at all. Then Delia felt Patsy fall asleep.

After a while of laying there, Delia realised that she was in fact rather cold so she extracted herself from Patsy’s grip and put on her pyjamas that had been discarded across the room. It made Delia’s cheeks slightly hot to think about what they had done but she quickly got changed so that she could lie back down next to the slumbering red head. She jumped under the duvet and after a lot of deliberation decided to shroud Patsy in the crocheted blanket that was on the end of the bed, Delia’s feet were so cold and as she huddled into the duvet she felt Patsy begin to stir.

“Sorry Pats.” She whispered as she felt the taller woman sleepily lift herself off the top of the duvet and get into the bed next to Delia. She felt strong arms wrap around her waist and a hot breath on the back of her neck. 

“Hey, I thought I was supposed to be big spoon.” Delia murmured before falling asleep herself. Patsy smiled, even in her sleep and huddled closer to Delia unconsciously – breathing in the scent of Delia’s hair. 

She never wanted to leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (If you want to message about anything then feel free to contact me on my Tumblr @charlottik123)


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another update for this fic which is a fluff extravaganza!
> 
> Hope you enjoy it (and it doesn't rot your teeth too much ;) <3 XXX

Delia awoke to Patsy’s solid arms wrapped around her midriff and her hot breath on the nape of Delia’s neck. She shifted slightly, trying not to wake the slumbering red head and rolled over until their foreheads were touching and she was close enough to gently kiss Patsy on the lips as a means of an alarm clock. Delia tucked a stray piece of hair behind Patsy’s ear and watched as the taller woman began to stir and opened her eyes sleepily before smiling gently. 

“Good morning Deels! What time is it?” She said, surprisingly chipper for someone who had just woken up.

“Pats, there is no way that you were asleep. No one is that happy when they wake up.”

“Of course I’m happy Miss Delia Busby, I’ve woken up next to you and there’s no one else here. No one else but us.” She smiled again and brushed down Delia’s fringe before capturing her lips in a chaste kiss and then climbing out of the warm bed.

“Where are you going?” Delia asked, rolling onto her back and looking over at Patsy at of the corner of her eyes.

“Not where I’m going Busby, where we are going. Now come on, get dressed and then we can go!” Patsy seemed very excited about where they were going but clearly she wasn’t going to let anything on to Delia about their destination.

Delia pulled herself up off the bed and watched as Patsy got out her undergarments, a loose white shirt and a pair of navy slacks before rushing into the small bathroom to get changed. She tumbled off of the large bed and picked out a light lemon dress and a white cardigan which she quickly changed into before getting out the yellow heels that Patsy had chosen and packed for her. Turning to face the mirror, she bunched her hair up into a bouncy high ponytail that was reminiscent of her first day at the Nurse’s home, her first day meeting Patsy. 

Just as she’d clicked the locks on her suitcase shut Patsy unlocked the bathroom and turned to face Delia, pyjamas neatly folded in one hand. She walked over to the bed and put them under her pillow before registering fully what Delia was wearing.

“Oh Deels you scrub up well!” She joked, looking the smaller woman up and down and focusing a little longer than was necessary on her low neckline that exposed some of her chest.

“As do you Patience.” She said registering Patsy’s eye roll, “Now if you’ll excuse me I just need to brush my teeth and then I’ll be right with you.”

She trotted into the bathroom and could feel Patsy’s gaze, hot on her back. Once Delia had finished in the bathroom, she patted her dress down and walked into the bedroom to see Patsy slipping on her brogues. She quickly did up the laces and walked over to Delia before embracing her tightly, kissing her quickly on her lips and then letting go.

“Come on then Deels I want us to have the full day together, we can lie in tomorrow!” Patsy seemed very excited about where she was taking Delia as she rocked on the balls of her feet and locked the door rather giddily after them. Grabbing Delia’s arm, she began to brusquely walk to wherever she planned to take them.

“Pats, are we not having food before we go?” Delia enquired as the taller girl hurried on, dragging Delia after her.

“No but don’t worry Deels, it’s all sorted!” She called over her shoulder and continued to half run and half walk down the road. Delia had to jog a little after Patsy so that she could catch up with the taller woman.

“Patsy hang on!” She cried as she fought to keep up with the red head’s longer strides. Thankfully Patsy stopped but not before Delia had collided solidly with her back and let out a soft ‘oof’ sound. Patsy instantly looked concerned but it was replaced by laughter as she saw Delia’s expression of mirth. 

“Sorry Deels but I did stop for you!” She winked before linking her arm through Delia’s and setting off at a more leisurely pace. Eventually they turned a corner onto a road, Patsy stopped and pulled Delia to stop with her. Pointing up at the sign above the large building, she watched as Delia’s face changed from expression to wonder. 

“Hang on, is that the Kursaal?” She asked Patsy in shock. “I used to have a book with all the rides in that my uncle got me when he visited here, I used to dream about coming here.” She looked at Patsy and tried to fight the tears that threatened to bubble over as she realised that her whole childhood had just come true in one place with one woman.

“Well I didn’t think that it would get this reaction! Are these happy tears?” She asked Delia, gently nudging her as she stood stock still in amazement.

“These are definitely happy tears.” She leaned in to whisper into Patsy’s ear, “Just know that if we weren’t stood here in the street I would have kissed you.” She watched as Patsy’s cheeks turned to a dark burgundy colour. “Now come on! I don’t want to waste a single second of this day!” Delia was practically skipping in her excitement and haste to get into the large dome shaped building that stood towering above them.

As they walked into the large main building, Delia couldn’t help but stare in wonder at the large dome that spiralled up endlessly in a sea of colour. Everyone had to walk around the young woman but at that point she couldn’t care less, Patsy eventually had to nudge her as she noticed the irritated glances that were being directed at them both as they stood directly in the middle of the floor.

Finally Delia moved and they managed to walk straight through the crowds into the sunshine outside. Although they had been out only a few minutes previous, everything seemed so much more colourful and vibrant as people milled around the various stalls and rides that the amusement park had to offer.

“Oh Pats this must have cost you a fortune. “ She breathed, still in awe as she watched everything that was going on around her.

“Delia you are not to think or worry about that, this is my treat and that’s exactly what I wanted to do – treat you. Now what ride do you want to go on first?” Delia looked around before pointing to a ride only a couple of feet away.

“The Waltzer.” She said confidently and strode towards it, leaving Patsy behind slightly as she ran to catch up. Suddenly the tables had turned and Delia was leading her way around the park and choosing the attractions that she wanted to go on.

Eventually Patsy decided that it was time to get some food and procured a tinfoil wrapped picnic from the small satchel that was on her hip, one that Delia hadn’t noticed as they had been walking around. The small parcels contained everything from ham sandwiches to scotch eggs, finishing off with jam tarts and coconut macaroons.

“Neither are home made I’m afraid, but I decided that we needed something sweet to round it all off with.” The two girls sat there for a moment basking in the sun that warmed their faces and created a warm glow of light all around them.

“Thank you Pats, I don’t think I could explain how grateful I am that you’ve done this.” Delia felt quite emotional for a moment but managed to contain herself as Patsy stood up, brushed the crumbs off of her trousers and held out her hand for Delia to take. 

“Come on then old thing, let’s make the most of this day!” 

A couple of hours later and both women thought that they had been on all of the attractions, that was until Delia pointed at the large coloured Ferris Wheel that seemed for the most part empty. Only a few couples were situated in the primary coloured pods so the two girls ran over and jumped in, waiting for it to begin to turn so they could get a birds eye view of the park from above. 

They sat closer than what was thought to be socially acceptable, hands touching on the seat and knees making contact when the wheel creaked to life and began to slowly take them up and up. Delia’s face was one of astonishment as she sat next to the woman she loved looking at what she thought must have been the most incredible view she had ever seen.

Whilst the two girls had thought that it only gave them a view of the park, in reality it stretched out further than that and Delia was sure that she could see the glittering sea on the horizon if she stretched far enough. Patsy pulled her down whenever she tried to get up and look.

“No Deels, as much as I like the view I’m sure that this is a death trap so don’t even try to stand up in this thing.” Patsy was still clinging onto her wrist even when she sat down, as though she was terrified that the floor would somehow collapse if she so much as stood on it.

Finally the Wheel touched down on solid ground and both women hopped out, taking in the setting sun in the West. Patsy tutted when she saw it and grabbed Delia’s arm, trying to share the warmth that radiated off Delia. As they walked out of the park, Delia looked around to make sure that there was no one around and slipped her hand into Patsy’s.

The walk back to the house was long and meaningful, so many questions were unspoken and yet no words were needed that night. Both Patsy and Delia understood that they were together and that was all that mattered. As they got into bed, Delia felt Patsy’s arms slide around her waist and felt her hot breath on her neck. Her dreams that night were punctuated by Patsy’s cut glass accent and impossibly high cheekbones.

The woman holding her now was the woman she had fallen in love with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "The Kursaal is a Grade II listed building in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, which opened in 1901 as part of one of the world's first purpose-built amusement parks."

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave comments and things I can improve on below! :)


End file.
